Can Salom by Petrezze, Petra
Only weeks after Can Salom in Petra was my Restaurant of the Week this summer, the owner and restaurant director, Joan Riera Salom, closed the doors and announced a future change of concept. When Joan reopened it at the end of September as Can Salom by La Petrezze, it had become a Mediterranean trattoria focused on Italian cuisine – and Petra’s new pizzeria.
Can Salom has a great location in the Mallorcan village, in the square known as Plaça Pare Serra – named after the Petra-born 18th-century Franciscan friar Junipero Serra, who founded missions on the West Coast of America. It’s a romantic setting for an al fresco Italian dinner, with tables under the leafy canopy of the trees. For cooler or wet evenings, there’s a basement dining room.
We went to try the reborn version of our favourite Petra restaurant, wondering whether the menu would offer more than the tempting pizzas I’d seen on their new Instagram grid. It does: the new à la carte menu offers antipasti, pizzas (including a vegetarian option), oven-baked pastas, and desserts. The impressive modern Italian oven is also being put to good use for take-out pizzas – making the concept change a bonus for locals.
From the ten dishes in the antipasti section, we chose two: buffalo mozzarella with tomatoes and basil oil (12,90€), and the unctuous oven-baked provolone with tomato, Parmesan, oregano and basil (13,50€). A basket of warm focaccia bread (7,20€) went perfectly with these dishes.
For our mains, we decided against pizza this time – but shall try one next visit. Of the three oven-baked pasta dishes, my husband chose fish cannelloni (21,90€), and I had braised-cheek-filled cannelloni (23,90€).
After such cheese-rich indulgence, we had no space for one of the Italian dessert classics or the traditional Mallorcan almond cake with ice cream that’s been given a place on the new menu. I was pleased to see – and can recommend – the artisan ice creams here from Jaume de Ciutat; the pistachio I had on a previous visit was one of the best I’d tried.
My husband drank a Mallorca rosado at 6,50€ a glass, and I had a verdejo (5,90€).
Joan studied music at the Conservatori Superior del Liceu de Barcelona. His tenor voice has pleased audiences at concerts in Mallorca and, occasionally, he’s sung something at Can Salom. Perhaps he’ll sing in Italian now.
Not only does Joan have a fine voice, but he also has a warm and welcoming personality, ensuring that the new Can Salom by La Petrezze continues to be a must for eating out in Petra.
Joan told me the trattoria will open during the winter on Friday evenings, and for lunch and dinner on Saturdays and Sundays. Good news!
Prices correct at time of writing.
Photos: Jan Edwards